Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin (found in wetland areas in
the eastern half of NC)

Coral Snake (the rarest, found in the south and
southeastern areas of NC)

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, about 8,000
people a year receive venomous snake bites in the United States, and
only 9 to 15 victims die. In fact more people die from wasp and bee stings
than from snake bites.

The
Eastern Coral Snake is a
member
of the Elapidae family, which includes the deadly cobras of
India. It
lives in the sand hills of southeastern North Carolina. This
rare
black, red, and yellow banded snake is
shy and seldom seen. It hunts at night and kills its prey with a
potent neurotoxin venom. This venom is the most toxic venom produced by any of North
Carolina's venomous snakes, but since Coral snakes are secretive, people seldom encounter one.

The other species of venomous snakes are known as pit vipers. The five North Carolina pit
vipers include two moccasins (the copperhead and cottonmouth) and three
rattlesnakes. Pit vipers are recognizable by their large, triangular or
diamond shaped head, a pit between the nostril and the eye, and vertically elliptical "cat's eye" pupils.
The Copperhead, Cottonmouth
(also known as the Water Moccasin), Canebrake
rattlesnake, Timber rattlesnake,
and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
all are pit vipers. These snakes have a highly
specialized venom apparatus which include two long hollow hinged fangs connected to small venom sacks. These snakes also have a pair of
extremely sensitive innervated organs which are located in pits between their eyes and
nostrils. These pits are "heat detectors" used for hunting. It enables the snake to locate, aim,
and strike at warm-blooded prey (primarily rodents.) This ability is so sensitive
that blindfolded snakes have been able to accurately follow rodents from a distance of 6 feet!

Rattlesnakes are equipped for both day and night vision. They
give birth
to living, venomous young. For some years, researchers have
known that juvenile rattlers often have stronger venom
than that of their larger, more mature counterparts -- a
difference that may have arisen
because small snakes inject much less venom than adults and may
go after different or faster
prey. In some species, young snakes have a higher proportion of
neurotoxins in their venom
than do older individuals. New research
has found that the toxicity of venom varies
greatly between individual snakes, both young and old.

Pit vipers generally inject large amounts of venom into hunting
bites,
but often little or no venom into defensive bites. In fact, up to
25% of pit viper bites in humans are non-venomous "dry bites". A
provoked
and angered snake, however, might not only "load up" to be quite
venomous,
but may also strike several times!

Most venomous snakes are peaceful, retiring animals that flee
for the underbrush when they
encounter humans. Unless they are hunting rodents, rattlesnakes
strike only in self-defense.
But if you step on one or try to capture it, a rattler will
retaliate with a rapid strike
that can be debilitating or even lethal. The Eastern Diamondback
Rattlesnake is the most dangerous North American snake.
Specimens have been captured as large as 8 feet long and
weighing 15 pounds.
The snake's 3/4" fangs are capable of penetrating almost any
boot.
Fortunately this snake is relatively docile.

In 1988 two doctors at the University of Southern
California Medical Center analyzed 227 cases of venomous
snakebite, covering more than
a decade, and found that 44 percent occurred during accidental
contact, such as stepping
on the animal. More than 55 percent, however, resulted from the
victim's grabbing or
handling the creatures, and in 28 percent of these cases, the
victims were intoxicated.
The doctors' conclusion was that the typical snakebite victim is
male and under thirty,
with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.1 percent at
the time he is bitten.
Yet only 0.2 percent of all snakebite victims die each year, and
most of them receive no
medical treatment or first aid.

Living with venomous snakes is really no different than
living with
hornets, or other minor risks of daily life. If one finds a
hornet
nest, one does not disturb it. The same caution should be applied
if one sees a snake. Injury may result if hornets or
snakes are disturbed or harassed. However, in North America
human injuries from playing sports or slipping in the bathtub are
far more common than are injuries from snakes. Venomous snakes
are
simply not a significant human health issue in North America.
The appropriate response to encountering a snake is to simply
walk away. Do not attempt to capture or kill it, as 70-80% of
bites occur in this manner.